Unpaid Work is one of the 12 requirements in the Community Order, which was introduced in the Criminal Justice Act 2003. Magistrates and Judges can order offenders to undertake a specified number of hours. The hours worked can vary from 40 hours to 300 hours. In the past this sentence has been called Community Service or, more recently, Community Punishment.

Offenders are expected to undertake a minimum of six hours a week and to have completed their ordered hours within 12 months. Completion time can be shorter depending on the number of hours. The Probation Service supervises this work and provides opportunities for offenders to work seven days a week, and some of the individual Probation Areas run their own workshops in the evening.

The Probation Service's number one priority is the protection of the public. Each offender is carefully assessed before they are assigned to a project of work. This assessment looks at an offender's criminal and personal history, the crimes they have committed - and the risk they pose to the public. Men and women, who are assessed as being unsuitable for work in the community, are managed in workshops that are based at Probation Centres or are supervised on enclosed projects that involve no direct contact with the public.

Small teams of offenders working in the community are supervised by fully trained supervisors working for the Probation Service. They are transported to and from the project of work.

The work benefits local schools; faith groups; churches; charities and community organisations and partnerships. The range of work can include:

• graffiti removal

• street clean-ups

• ground clearance

• recycling projects

• building maintenance and landscaping

• improvements to park and community facilities

• environmental preservation programmes

• general gardening projects

• painting and decorating in community centres and meeting places

• making and repairing goods for sale in charity shops.

Although the Probation Service provides the free labour, we ask that the community group or charity provide the materials for the job such as paint, plants or building materials.

The Community Payback Campaign has been promoting the benefits of Unpaid Work to local communities. The Probation Service wants the range of different projects to reflect the cultural diversity of our modern society.

During the last few years there have been several campaigns - including the nationally designated Clean Up Week - which has seen members of the public voting for a project of their choice. The winning project is completed during the specified week.

This website, and the websites of individual Probation Areas, allow you to put forward a project for consideration for Community Payback. There is a nomination form on this website that enables you to suggest a possible project in one or more Probation Areas.

This website is supported by the five Probation Areas in the East Midlands. These include: Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Rutland, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Northamptonshire.

Go to Your Probation Area by following the links above and see the range of projects undertaken by the different Probation Areas in the East Midlands.

The National Probation Service is made up of 42 different Probation Areas in England and Wales. Another name that you will see featured on this website is NOMS, which stands for the 'National Offender Management Service'. NOMS brings the Prison and Probation Services together and is at the centre of a fundamental overhaul of the correctional services that is designed to further cut re-offending rates and increase rehabilitation. Click here to read more about NOMS.

 
NOMINATE A PROJECT NOW
Please use the NOMINATE A PROJECT FORM to suggest a project of work that we can assess to see if it is suitable.